Hollywood actress Amanda Seyfried felt "primed" for her role in the new film 'First Reformed'.

The 32-year-old actress stars alongside Ethan Hawke as a pregnant woman who becomes close to a priest going through a spiritual crisis and she says the maternal aspect of the role was perfectly tailored for her experience at the time of filming.

In an interview with The i newspaper, she said: "I was primed for it. Well, I was already pregnant."

The 'Mamma Mia' star - who has a 15-month-old daughter with husband Thomas Sadoski - also opened up about relating to the internal struggles faced by the other characters in the thought-provoking film, which is directed by Paul Schrader.

She revealed: "I feel like I become darker as I grow older."

Amanda went on to explain how she experienced "dark moments as a pre-teen" after suffering from panic attacks and OCD, which led her to see a psychiatrist at the age of 19.

When it came to the casting process for the new film, Schrader said the Hollywood beauty was at the top of a list of 10 other actresses, despite her resume predominantly featuring light-hearted roles.

He said: "I hadn't seen her for a while, except for 'Mean Girls'. She has a tendency to be a little cute, but if you knock that out of her..."

The idea of being typecasted is something Amanda is wary of and always keeps in mind when reading new scripts.

She said: "I don't want to be pigeonholed. [It's why] I don't play the same character all the time."